FAQ

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

In short, closed (or slow) combustion refers to the ‘revelation’ many years ago that burning solid fuel in a closed metal box can increase the heat output and at the same time reduce the fuel consumption compared to a traditional open fire.

Instead of throwing fuel into a freely oxygenated fire where it is chewed up very quickly and much of the heat lost up the chimney, you get to control how much oxygen your fire gets with various air vents on your stove. This means that you can regulate your heat much easier than an open fire.

In addition, burning the fuel in a robust stove means that your fuel can achieve a much higher temperature than it would if burned in an open fire. This is another bonus as you require less fuel to achieve the same output.

These stoves can easily be ‘retro-fitted’ into any home. You do not need to build a big chimney stack and fire surround.

Another big ‘plus’ is the fact that your fire is safely contained so that you can fire it up, close the door and go to bed be leaving your heat to radiate well in to the early hours!

Basically, it is the process by which volatile gases that would normally be emitted up your chimney are re-ignited inside the stove creating more heat and better efficiency and cleaner emissions from the same piece of fuel. Secondary indicates that a second ignition takes place, tertiary indicates that a third ignition takes place.

However, do not be ‘blinded by science’ when you examine and compare your stove manufacturers. A fair comparison can be based on Kilowatt Rating (KW) and Efficiency rating.

1 Kilowatt is equivalent to approximately 3,600 BTU (British Thermal Units). A BTU is equivalent to 1,055 ‘joules’ which is now the internationally recognised measurement for this type of energy.

The reason we mention BTUs is because a BTU was traditionally used as a measurement for the thermal energy required to heat 1 pound (453 grams) of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit (approx. 1.8°C).

So a Kilowatt in terms of thermal measurement is considered to be 3,600 times more than the thermal energy required in this simple experiment heating water.

Ok so far?…

Well, the Kilowatt rating on your stove is not simply the thermal energy being output by your stove. The stove itself does not produce any thermal energy in it’s own right – it is just a metal box.

Really, the KW rating on your stove is more like a measure of the ‘ideal’ thermal output that your stove can maintain during the burning process inside it whilst maintaining a certain level of efficiency and without prematurely damaging the stove body or internal components.

The stove manufacturers will choose what data suits the market they are targetting and publish accordingly.

For example, a stove rated as 12KW and 75% efficiency during the test process may comfortably be able to kick out 16KW without too much trouble. However, the efficiency at 16 KW may be reduced to 70% which does not suit the manufacturer’s target market so they publish the results based on the 12KW figures.

To start with, you will wear through your fire grate and throat (baffle) plate prematurely which could be a costly and uneccessary replacement.

In addition, evidence of ‘over firing’ will likely invalidate your warranty in the event of damage to the body of the stove. This is the case with any stove manufacturer.

‘Over-firing’ is a common mistake made by new-stove enthusiasts. Generally, the new user believes that he should have a raging inferno at all times, when in fact, the burning process should be ‘slow and steady’ not ‘hard and fast’.

An easy way to avoid this common mis-understanding is to use a stove pipe thermometer until you get used to regulating the heat from your stove. We supply them and they work on any stove.

If used and maintained correctly, your stove body will last you a lifetime. Internal components will normally require replacement over a 5-10 year cycle.

This is supposed to be the measure of how much of a fuel’s latent energy is given to your room during the burning process. The ‘scientists’ set a measure for the amount of fuel to be used (weight etc) and how often the re-fuelling will take place. They will test the emitted flue gases in the flue pipe (chimney) for temperature and carbon content during the burning process allowing them to calculate how much energy contained in a given fuel has not been radiated from the stove to the room compared to how much has been. The difference gives you a percentage rating for how efficient the stove is. E.g a stove with 75% efficiency rating is effectively transferring 75% of the energy stored in the fuel consumed to heating the room.

This is useful in principle. The problem is that each manufacturer may use their own test conditions to measure the efficiency which makes it very subjective! Even within regulated countries like the UK, they can choose what fuel, how much fuel, refuelling times and oxygen intake they want to use under the test conditions.

This makes it close to impossible to measure exactly ‘like for like’ as you do not know what the test conditions set by the manufacturer are.

However, the good manufacturers (like Charnwood) will publish their test conditions and refuelling times which means that you have a much more genuine result and can make a better comparison with others (provided they also publish their test conditions). In addition, all Charnwood stoves comply with EN13240 or EN13229 which set down some basic principles of efficiency as a minimum.

All Charnwood stoves are tested to meet EN13240 and EN 13229. These are European tests. Amongst other things, these tests require the appliance to achieve the following standards:

Be soundly constructed
Have means of cleaning their internal flueways
Be provided with a glove or tool for handling hot surfaces
When operated according to the manufacturer’s instructions, have an efficiency of at least 50% (Charnwood stoves range between 71% and 82%) and CO emission <1%
Need refuelling no more than every 45 mins. on wood, 1 hour on mineral fuels (intermittent use)
Be capable of burning unattended for 10 hours on wood, 12 hrs on mineral fuel (if for continuous use)
Be marked with a label showing the maker’s name or mark and the model, plus relevant performanc data

This is extremely reasurring as you can be assured that your Charnwood stove will meet your expectations!

Some manufacturing areas of the world (such as developing economies and cheap producers) may readily sight high efficiency ratings and KWh outputs but one should be cautious when presented with impressive statistics from relatively cheap products. Like most things in life – you get what you pay for with a stove.

We are advocates of wood. Plentiful in supply, sustainable and affordable. You can burn many other fuels on your Charnwood stove but wood is our preferred fuel. Your average tree will consume more carbon dioxide during it’s lifetime that it will produce when burnt in an efficient closed combustion fire place. Our fireplaces work exceptionally well with semi-hard, well seasoned non-resinous woods such as eucalyptus (blue gum).

Flues are currently not regulated here in SA so you can even find ‘galvanised’ or low grade stainless steel products on the market. Be cautious of these as you will get issues with leaks, corrosion and smoke which will dampen your fireside experience.

We recommend an ‘entry level’ grade 304 product (the non-magnetic type if you want to do a quick check with other available products).

We have two options:

A very high quality and well priced CE rated ‘clamp system’ manufactured in Europe. 0.4mm thick steel. Excellent ‘seamless’ join and good value for money.
A locally manufactured 304 system that uses 0.5mm steel on straight flues and 0.9mm on bends. Spot welded so you may choose to apply a sealant to the seam if you are in high-wind areas. A little more expensive than the European system but with local manufacture, it is a ‘flexible’ option for ‘bespoke’ requirements.

Speak to us about your requirements and we will give you a kit to suit!

It is our goal to develop a network of Charnwood approved installers for our products nationwide. So far we have some excellent partners dotted around the country who will assist. We will not recommend an installer unless they carry Public Liability insurance, offer a 12 month warranty on the work and have at least 5 years experience in stove installation.